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Twilight War
The '''Twilight War '''was a galactic conflict that took place in 2019. Beginning with the emergence of the Twilight, an interdimensional rift, the Old Ones attempted to invade and exert their total influence over the Milky Way Galaxy and nearby minor galaxies. The Plumbers fought against the Old Ones and their followers in a total war that spanned most of the civilized planets in the galaxy. After innumerable worlds were destroyed or otherwise devastated by the forces of the Old Ones, Ben Tennyson closed the Twilight using the sword Ascalon and thus ended the threat, at the cost of his own life. While the Plumbers were ultimately victorious in the war, it left the Milky Way Galaxy in a state of virtually irreparable ruin. While the war had a relatively minor impact on Earth, for most planets in the galaxy, the Twilight War's results were apocalyptic in proportion. Background The Old Ones are a class of mysterious, nigh-omnipotent energy being that originate from beyond the physical boundaries of the universe. They have attempted to invade and take control over the universe on multiple occasions. In the past, Earth was a site sensitive to attacks by the Old Ones due to the human connection to interdimensional mana. The Old Ones known as Dagon attempted to invade the Earth and the universe in the 12th century, but was thwarted by a human knight named Sir George, who wielded the reality-manipulating sword Ascalon developed by Azmuth. George sealed Dagon away, and would move on to form the Forever Knights, an anti-alien militant cult. In 2011, Dagon once again attempted to invade the universe when, ironically, a modern-day Forever Knight faction inadvertently broke the seal and unleashed him. Dagon subsequently used his powers to seize control over virtually every human on Earth. Dagon was defeated by Vilgax, who took advantage of Dagon being an energy being to fully absorb his power into himself. Vilgax was then defeated by Ben Tennyson, wielding Ascalon, who sealed away Dagon's power and freed humanity from the Old One's influence. Azmuth then took Ascalon and Dagon's power into his custody, and for a time, the threat of the Old Ones ended. Dagon's presence on Earth resulted in the birth of an apocalyptic cult known as the Flame Keeper's Circle. The cult was born during Dagon's first attack on Earth of those who had first experienced its influence; in 2011, they aided in Dagon's return, but were destroyed in the Battle of a Hundred Lifetimes between themselves and the Forever Knights. Events Unlike the 2011 invasion of Earth, which was perpetrated entirely by a single Old One, the events of the Twilight War were catalyzed by an unknown number of Old Ones operating in a pantheon under a single unknown "ideal." In the summer of 2019, an interdimensional rift known as the Twilight opened on the outskirts of the Milky Way Galaxy. Rather than acting as a direct portal, the Twilight was a fissure in reality which allowed the Old Ones to exert their influence and ultimately open portals in any destination in the Milky Way Galaxy. At the moment the Twilight appeared, the Old Ones' Herald, an unidentified being, declared on all galactic communication channels that the Old Ones would invade and take control, "purging" the galaxy. Worlds that resisted would burn to the ground, and those that submitted would be granted mercy "in the light." The Old Ones then began an all-out assault on the galaxy, opening portals near significant strategic points and indirectly attacking the Plumbers with their reality-altering powers. The Old Ones spread their influence through "the light," a controlling force that turned innocent minds into their slaves, known as the Followers. The events that followed are ambiguous, but resulted in the apocalyptic destruction of countless worlds and the loss of trillions of lives. A large portion of the galaxy was already in ruins before the Plumbers managed to organize a sufficient resistance to the Followers. Nonetheless, the Old Ones held the upper hand for most of the conflict, closing in on major Plumber strongholds. By the latter portion of the conflict, approximately eighty-seven percent of the galaxy's sentient beings had been killed or taken by the Old Ones. The Plumbers most likely would have lost the Twilight War, were it not for the discovery of the location of the Twilight by Galvan scientists. Subsequently, a small task force consisting of veteran Plumbers Rook Blonko, Ben and Gwen Tennyson, and Kelly Glenn attacked the Twilight with the intent of sealing it permanently. Ben, wielding Ascalon, was able to close the Twilight at the cost of his own life, saving what was left of the galaxy as the Old Ones were forced back into their dimensions. Aftermath The Twilight War utterly devastated the Milky Way Galaxy. The vast majority of the galaxy's sentient beings had been lost to the Old Ones; innumerable worlds were destroyed, and the infrastructure of the Milky Way collapsed. The Milky Way and its satellites were reduced from a bustling region of commerce and communication to a vast, silent space of dead planets. The Plumbers were virtually annihilated by the conflict as well, and in the wake of it, struggled to maintain what was left of their former jurisdiction. The era of interplanetary civilization effectively came to a halt, and most surviving worlds were forced to cut themselves off from the rest of the galaxy in order to recover, unable to aid one another. The Galvan were the only advanced civilization to survive the Twilight War, but even they could do little for the surviving worlds. The span of the Milky Way Treaty was reduced from the entire galaxy to a relatively small region. Many planets that existed within the small region protected by the Plumbers during the war were spared; notably, Earth and the human civilization, already with very little connection to the larger universe, were virtually unaffected by the devastation. However, the death of Ben Tennyson catalyzed a push against alien-human cohabitation on Earth, which came to be known as the Homeworld movement. New jurisdiction and laws, especially in the United States (where the majority of Earth's aliens lived), forced many aliens to emigrate from the planet in spite of having nowhere else to go. The Plumbers could do little to prevent this direct violation of galactic rights, due to having too few resources to stand in its way. Between 2020 and 2035, Earth's alien population was reduced by more than ninety percent. Many human rerumas, whose legal status under the Homeworld movement was ambiguous, were simply left behind without homes or families. Notable examples include Betty Augen, who was given up for adoption, and Lyssa, who was thrown out into the streets by her birth mother and later enslaved by an anti-alien vigilante. The Twilight War also resulted in the re-emergence of Earth-based cults worshiping the Old Ones, as the Flame Keeper's Circle once had. The Church of the New Dawn was formed from the ideals and scriptures of the Flame Keeper's Circle, and preached that the Old Ones would return in an apocalyptic "second war" which would see the total purging of the Milky Way Galaxy, particularly Earth. Category:Events